The Barcelona native was 15 when his family fled Spain for Mexico following the defeat of the Republican side in the 1936-1939 civil war. He was considered one of the most profound scholars of Mexican poetry.

Spanish-born philosopher and poet Raman Xirau has died in his adopted homeland of Mexico, his family said Thursday. He was 95.

The Barcelona native was 15 when his family fled Spain for Mexico following the defeat of the Republican side in the 1936-1939 civil war.

Becoming a naturalized Mexican citizen in 1955, Xirau earned a doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and went on to publish more than 40 books.

El Colegio Nacional, an honorary academy that Xirau entered in 1974, expressed sadness over the death of "one of the most profound scholars of Mexican poetry."

His examinations of the work of Octavio Paz and Xavier Villaurrutia, above all, are indispensable to understanding not only these poets, but an entire current of national thought," El Colegio Nacional said.

The Spanish government awarded Xirau the Great Cross for Civil Merit in 2007. Two years later, he was honored with Mexico's Fine Arts Medal on the occasion of his 85th birthday.

He received the Legion of Honour from France and the Isabel la Católica from Spain awards as well as the Creu de Sant Jordi from the Generalitat of Catalonia for his works in essay and academics in Spanish and Catalan literature. He also received the Elías Sourasky and the Premio Universidad Nacional awards at the UNAM.

According to Wikipedia, Professor Xirau is mostly known in the English speaking world as the co-author of The Nature of Man along with Erich Fromm (Macmillan 1968)